Timeless Unknown
by RileyMarie1997
Summary: We all know and love the beautiful relationship of Sawyer and Juliet, but how exactly did they fall for each other? We never saw those mysterious two weeks where Sawyer somehow convinced Juliet to stay on the island with him. How did he do it? Was Sawyer the only reason Juliet decided to stay? Just what exactly happened in those two weeks with our favorite survivors?
1. Sawyer's In Love

"Alright, two weeks," Juliet said finally in her irresistibly smooth voice. Her smirk made Sawyer practically melt right there on the dock. "Two weeks" replayed in his head. He managed to earn two more weeks with the woman who was slowly taking over his world. Sawyer smiled that dorky smile that only creeped its way on his lips when he accomplished something he was truly nervous about. He nodded once in accomplishment and looked out towards the ocean.

Juliet was silent and Sawyer couldn't help but look at her out of the corner of his eye. The dock creaked slightly as a gust of wind raced past them. Juliet's hair shimmered in the moonlight, her piercing blue eyes studying the water. She shot a look towards him and grinned when he quickly averted his look back towards the sea.

Sawyer cleared his throat awkwardly and rubbed his hands together, quickly noticing his palms were getting sweaty. _What the hell?_ He thought to himself. He hadn't felt this way about a woman in a long time. And Juliet of all people? The woman who tasered him the first time she laid eyes on him. But he didn't care, something about her made him weak in the knees.

"Hey!" Miles voice echoed from the other end of the dock back on the shore. Juliet spun her head in the direction of the voice and Sawyer sat up a little straighter, squinting his eyes to get a better look at who was with Miles. He could see Miles waving a hand at them and Jin finally came into focus next to him.

"Damn." Sawyer said under his breath as he looked back at Juliet who was looking up at him from her sitting position. "Here we go." He stood up slowly from the wooden box he was sitting on and offered a hand for Juliet. She took it and he hoisted her to her feet. Once they were both on their feet Miles and Jin were half way down the dock. Sawyer looked into Juliet's eyes with a semi-enthusiastic expression painted on his face, and gestured for her to follow him.

"How can I help you Chief?" Sawyer asked Miles with a cheeky smile once they met in the middle of the dock. Jin and Juliet closely behind, standing on either side of them as if they were facing each other for battle.

"You wanna tell us what the Hell is going on?" Miles jerked his head in Jin's direction once he finished his question and raised his eyebrows, waiting for a response from Sawyer. The dock light hummed overhead as they stood there in silence.

"I got us two weeks." Sawyer responded finally and crossed his arms. "I was able to talk them into giving us two weeks to stay here and wait for Locke." He watched Jin and Miles' eyes flash back and forth between him and Juliet. "As far as they know we're stayin' here to look for the rest of our crew."

No one said anything for a few long seconds and then finally Miles spoke up once again. "So we just live here amongst the Dharma folk as if we are one of them until Locke gets back?" He asked. "No harm done?" He crossed his arms too, obviously thinking about how they could possibly lay low for two weeks.

"Where's Danny Boy?" Sawyer looked behind Miles and Jin in hopes of finding Daniel somewhere nearby on the shore. "He's the one who can tell us what we can and can't do here." He had no idea how this whole time travel thing worked. He was just the smooth talker who got them out of the mess they managed to get themselves into. Stuck in the 70's. Now that's a new one. All their bets were placed on Locke someday returning and getting them back where they belong. _Sure hope that's soon_ Sawyer thought.

"I dunno, I thought he was with you," Miles responded quickly and pointed a finger at Sawyer without unfolding his arms.

"Guys," Juliet interrupted, not even giving Sawyer a chance to open his mouth in response. She furrowed her brow and peered around Jin, looking at a figure who had appeared from the trees. It was Horace. Great. Just what they needed.

Horace lingered near the tree line before making his way towards the four of them. Sawyer sighed. "Not a word." He looked each one of them in the eye, indicating he would take care of it. Sawyer nudged Miles out of the way slightly so he could face Horace. "Evenin!" He took a couple steps forward to shorten Horace's trip. "You wouldn't happen to know where we left our physicist?" Sawyer asked sarcastically, slightly hoping he actually knew.

"I'm here to take you back to your homes for the next couple of weeks," Horace said calmly, skipping over Sawyer's bizarre, although entirely serious, question. He tucked his hands into the pockets of his dharma jumpsuit. His glasses reflecting the moonlight into Sawyer's face.

 _Finally!_ Sawyer thought. A bed, a nice comfy bed with pillows and blankets. No more sleeping on the sand. No more cold nights out in the jungle. He'd spent quite some time in those Dharma beds not too long ago, they were nice. Sawyer quickly looked back at the group and then back at Horace. "Lead the way boss." He held out his hands, waiting for Horace to take them to their _luxurious_ suites.

Without hesitation Horace spun back around and began walking back towards _Dharmaville._ Jin and Miles stayed back as if they were waiting for Sawyer's approval. Raising his eyebrows Sawyer nodded his head forwards giving them the O.K. to follow. Once they began walking he rolled his eyes and walked beside Juliet. "Seriously?" He spoke softly to her. "You were going to leave me with these two?" She laughed quietly. "Can't even think for themselves." He watched her with a smile of his own, as if he were proud of himself for getting her to laugh.

Horace had already made arrangements for the five of them to stay in three of the Dharma houses. Sawyer watched him lead Jin to a vacant house that Faraday had already made himself quite comfortable in. Peering through the open door, Sawyer could see Daniel pacing the living room floor and frantically writing notes in his leather notebook. "Wonder if good-old Horace paired us together Blondie," he said with a grin, now looking at Juliet, who was sitting at a picnic table next to Miles.

Miles rolled his eyes and leaned back at the table, elbows resting on the wood behind him and legs out in front of him, crossed at the ankles. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" Juliet smirked and looked past him. Sawyer didn't know what she was looking at, he furrowed his brow.

"Jim." Sawyer heard loudly, right in his ear. He flinched slightly at the sound of Horace's voice directly behind him. Not knowing Horace had left Jin and Faraday's place in the middle of his flirting with Juliet, his sudden appearance startled him. "I'll be taking you and your buddy to this house right over here." Horace pointed to the house across from the swing set.

Juliet and Miles stood up from the picnic table. Sawyer glanced quickly at Juliet and raised his eyebrows at Horace, as if to say, "and what about the lady?" The dark haired woman they had just saved earlier that day came up behind Horace. Amy was it? Sawyer couldn't exactly remember.

"Amy was kind enough to agree to let uhhh…" Horace looked at Juliet with his mouth open slightly, waiting for her to respond with her name.

"Uhhh…Juliet." She hesitated slightly with her answer. _Probably wondering if she should use a fake name._ Sawyer grinned and looked at her, letting her know she did fine. She smiled quickly back at him, but only for a second.

"Juliet," Horace repeated and continued with his sentence, "stay with her while you all look for the rest of your crew." Sawyer looked at Amy, her eyes still red from obviously crying over the loss of her husband. Great. Juliet gets stuck with the newly-made widow. She was definitely kind enough to handle this situation, but two weeks of nothing but tears and sadness can really ware on someone.

Amy smiled at Juliet weakly and began leading the way to her house. Juliet looked at Sawyer one last time before she began walking. He winked at her and gave her one last reassuring smile before she looked away and continued after Amy.

Sawyer stepped up onto the porch of the small yellow house directly behind Horace and Miles. He rested his hand on the frame of the front door before completely stepping inside. Horace began giving them a quick run-down of the rules, what they could and could not do, when breakfast was served in the mess-hall, etc. But Sawyer wasn't listening. He was watching Juliet through his window.

She and Amy were sitting on the porch of their quote on quote " _house_ " talking. Juliet was probably feeding Amy comforting words to sooth her broken heart. Horace's voice was muffled out in Sawyer's head. He was almost in a trance as he watched Juliet. Studying her every move. He noticed she moved her hands quite a bit when she talked, which he thought was endearing. She and Amy were both laughing and oh how he wished he was within earshot to hear her infectious laugh! Time seemed to stand still in that moment for Sawyer. This woman was truly beginning to take over his life, and Sawyer wasn't exactly sure how he felt about that.

"Jim?" Sawyer heard Horace faintly but he didn't move his gaze from the window. "Jim!" Horace snapped at him and he was sucked back into reality.

"Yeah." Sawyer turned his head quickly in Miles's and Horace's direction. He raised his eyebrows and looked directly at Horace to show him he had his full attention.

"You got all that?" Horace asked skeptically, obviously noticing he hadn't exactly been paying all that much attention. Miles looked at Sawyer nervously, waiting for him to say something smooth.

Stepping away from the window he answered Horace. "Breakfast at seven thirty, no going outside the boarder without permission, yada, yada, yada…" Sawyer had listened to a small portion of what Horace was saying before he tuned him out. "We got it." He headed to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water.

Once Horace finally left, Miles began to laugh and sat down on the couch. "She's done a number on you my friend." He let out another small laugh and crossed his legs up on the coffee table, making himself comfortable.

"What are you talking about _friend_?" Sawyer asked with emphasis on the word 'friend' considering he hadn't known Miles terribly long and he didn't consider many people on this island his friend. He walked into the living room with his cup of water.

"Juliet," Miles said flatly. "She's got you in the palm of her hand." He chuckled once again, obviously enjoying the little romance that was unfolding in front of him. "It's a shame though." Miles reached for a book that was sitting on the side table next to the couch. "I'm pretty sure she's got the hots for me." He said with a grin as he flipped through the book he grabbed.

"Whatever." Sawyer shook his head and downed his cup of water.

"You're just jealous."

"Of you?" Sawyer asked almost choking on his water from laughter.

Miles nodded and tossed the book onto the coffee table.

"Nah." He shook his head and set his empty cup on the kitchen table. He knew Juliet would never go for Miles.

"That chick digs me." Miles continued to push Sawyers buttons.

"Keep tellin' yourself that." Sawyer shot back as he headed down the hall to claim his bedroom.

He made a hard left and stepped into the first room. He quickly examined the area before he took his shoes off and slid off his shirt and jeans so all he was wearing were his boxers and socks. As Sawyer placed his pants and shirt on top of the dresser there was a knock at the front door. "Son of a…" He said under his breath.

"Miles, where's Sawyer?" Daniel's voice carried down the hall. Sawyer was surprised Daniel was out and about, considering what happened to Charlotte. He heard Miles invite Daniel in and he stepped out of the bedroom, not bothering to put his clothes back on.

"Whatcha need Chief?" Sawyer asked, not really prepared for another one of Daniel's theories this late at night.

Daniel looked a little frazzled, but when did he not? "We may have a slight problem," he finally spat out as he stepped closer to Sawyer and opened his journal.

"Oh boy," Miles said sarcastically as he sat on the couch again.

"You're friend…Locke?" Daniel glanced at Sawyer and finally flipped to the page he desired. "He may not return as quickly as he thinks he will."

Sawyer looked at Daniel's notebook, the page was full of scribbles and pictures that looked like a foreign language to him. "How long you thinkin' he'll take Danny Boy?" He asked, a little afraid to hear the answer.

"It could be weeks." Daniel looked at Miles and then back at Sawyer. "Or it could be years." His face unsure, almost childlike.

"So what are we doin' here?" Sawyers voice was booming compared to Daniels. "Why don't we got off this damn rock and save ourselves the trouble of waiting for nothing?"

"Because we're not waiting for nothing." Daniel stressed, pointing to his journal again, which meant absolutely nothing to Sawyer. "Locke said he would return, but time isn't exactly the same for us anymore."

Sawyer looked over at Miles, who shrugged his shoulders and leaned forward slightly and furrowed his brow, trying as hard as Sawyer to follow.

Daniel grew more frustrated with them by the second. "Locke left while we were still moving through time, right?" He waited for the two of them to nod before he moved on. "Well, we can't exactly tell for sure what time period he ended up in."

"Or if he even made it!" Miles chimed in.

Sawyer stood there in silence for a moment. Absorbing the information he had just been told. "What about the huge flash?" He asked. "That brought us all here to the seventies. Wouldn't Locke have also shown up somewhere in the same timeframe?"

"I have no idea."

"Great." Sawyer threw his hands up in frustration. _Who knows where the Hell Locke is,_ He thought. _He probably wouldn't be able to convince everyone to come back anyway._ Daniel was making absolutely no sense and it angered Sawyer.

"But that doesn't mean he's not where he's supposed to be." Daniel continued to ramble on.

"Are we even where we're supposed to be?" Miles asked genuinely curious.

"Of course not!" Sawyer yelled. "We're in the damn Dharma Initiative!"

"James please." Daniel said in attempt to calm Sawyer down.

Sawyer thought about Jack, Hurley, Sun, Aaron, Sayid…Kate. People he may never see again. He was truly going to miss her. He kept telling himself from the moment he jumped from that helicopter it would have never worked out between him and Freckles. But he kind of wished he hadn't left things the way he did. Maybe it was a good thing he never see her again. Another fresh start.

"Whether Locke made it off the island or not." Daniel closed his notebook and looked at the both of them. "We have nothing to go back to. Our world hasn't been built yet." He began heading for the door. "In the meantime, I suggest we do as we're told and hope Locke makes it back before anyone suspects we aren't who we say we are."

"Sure thing." Sawyer nodded once and shut the door behind Daniel. He sighed as he headed back to his room, leaving Miles alone in the living room.

Leaning up against the bed frame, Swayer slid off his socks and crawled into bed. He grabbed the book that lay on his nightstand. A Tale of Two Cities Sawyer read in bold letters. He set the book back on the nightstand, knowing he would just fall asleep before he got to anything good.

He shut off the lamp on the nightstand and pulled the covers over himself. He laid there in the dark, thinking of how they were going to pull this off. Then his mind wandered, eventually focusing on Juliet. Her beaming face, a beautiful image in his head. "Two weeks." Sawyer murmured before dozing off. _Two weeks to make this girl fall in love with me._ He shut his eyes and within seconds he fell asleep to his plan to win her heart.


	2. Does She Feel The Same?

Juliet woke up early the next morning out of habit. She rubbed her eyes, a very vivid dream still prominent in her mind. She was up pretty late the night before, thinking about why exactly she chose to stay on the island.

She couldn't quite tell if it was the convincing charm of Sawyer, or if what he told her actually made sense to her. There really was nothing for her to go back to. It was 1974 and anything she hoped to return to didn't exist.

Making her way into the bathroom she realized Amy's door was closed, but her bedroom light seeped through the crack under the door. She could hear faint sobs coming from inside the room. Not wanting to intrude she continued towards the bathroom.

Juliet took a quick shower and changed into the outfit Amy lent to her the night before. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a very seventies, long sleeved, baggy white shirt with blue stitching as accents, and long boot-cut jeans. She couldn't help but laugh at herself.

When Juliet exited her bedroom she noticed Amy's door was open but she wasn't inside. She walked down the hallway into the kitchen and she saw a very exhausted looking Amy sitting at the kitchen table sipping a cup of coffee.

"Morning." Amy said in a groggy voice and set her mug on the kitchen table. She looked miserable and Juliet wondered if she had gotten any sleep the night before.

"Morning." Juliet replied sweetly.

"They're serving breakfast at the mess hall now if you want to head over there."

Juliet glanced at the clock next to the door it was eight fifteen. She looked outside the window and saw people in Dharma jumpsuits making their way towards the mess hall. She noticed Amy was still in her pajamas, clearly not going anywhere soon. Which was understandable. She assumed Amy was given the day off considering the circumstances. Again, understandable.

"I guess I'll head over there." Juliet said with a smile. "You want me to bring you anything?" She offered before opening the front door.

Amy shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "I'm not very hungry."

Juliet nodded and decided not to prod. She opened the front door and stepped out onto the porch. The sound of laughter and chatter from others around her filled the air as she shut the door behind her. It was a beautiful day. She was reminded of her days back in these houses as an _other._ Juliet often used the term _other_ humorously to describe herself. Considering she never really identified herself with Ben's group.

As she made her way to the mess hall she wondered if the boys were already over there, or if they were even awake. First night sleeping in a bed for months, Juliet understood it could be difficult to leave.

Juliet began to think about the dream she had the night before as she walked. It was about Sawyer, well not just Sawyer, the guys were there too, but she distinctly remembered Sawyer. They were all in Dharma jumpsuits, herself included, and they all had jobs. Although, that wasn't even the strangest part, what really caught Juliet's attention she seemed to be in a relationship with Sawyer and they were living together. She couldn't get the dream out of her mind, the idea of her and Sawyer actually together was almost unreal.

"Mornin Blondie!"

Juliet spun around and saw Sawyer approaching her, Miles, Daniel and Jin following closely behind. Dimples molded on his face, and for a split second Juliet was weak in the knees.

"I thought I'd catch you over here." Sawyer continued towards her until they were face to face. She studied his features, unable to shake herself from the love-struck trance she seemed to be in. He was wearing a paisley shirt with light jeans. She assumed Horace found some clothes for them, Sawyer's outfit was definitely the most humorous to her. "I hear the pancakes are to die for here." He winked at her as he opened the door to the mess hall and waited for her to enter.

Juliet's dream worked its way back into her mind as they ate their breakfast. She couldn't seem to shake it, and she was sure James noticed her long stares here and there. Which embarrassed her slightly. Although, she couldn't help but notice it didn't entirely feel like a dream, more like a memory. A very distinct memory.

"So what's the plan boss?" Miles asked with a mouthful of food.

Sawyer cleared his throat slightly before answering. "The plan," he paused for a moment, probably to gather his thoughts. "Is to convince 'em we're looking for our crew." He stated very matter-of-factly.

"How exactly do you suggest we do that?" Juliet asked, wondering how Sawyer planned to pull all of this off.

Sawyer sipped his orange juice and then set his cup down on the table. "We go out in the jungle in groups for a few hours. Look for signs of Locke and the others." He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "And if we find them before the two weeks are up we convince Horace they are part of our crew."

"That's it?" Miles sounded slightly disappointed. "That's your plan?"

"You got a better one?" Sawyer snapped back.

"What happens when they do come back?" Miles leaned forward in his chair. "Everything magically goes back to normal?" He raised his eyebrows waiting for a response.

"Well, to be honest I was hoping Locke know what to do from that point." Sawyer said flatly.

"It's the best we've got." Juliet defended Sawyer before Miles could say anything else.

They finished their food in silence before Miles spoke up again. "When do we head out?"

"The sooner the better." Sawyer shrugged his shoulders and glanced at the clock above the door. "We're loosin' daylight." He looked back at them.

Juliet watched Daniel he seemed better this morning. Knowing him, Juliet assumed he had an opinion on what exactly they should all be doing. "What do you think we should do Daniel?"

He looked up at her with wide eyes and cleared his throat softly. "I think what Sawyer has planned it great." He nodded. "Our best chance is waiting for Locke, keep our heads down and try not to get involved."

Juliet's eyes flashed to Sawyer and she raised her eyebrows, "We better get going then."

They all stood up from the table and cleared the area, making their way back outside. Sawyer opened the door for Juliet, a charming smile painted on his face as he did so, his dimples etched into his cheeks yet again. Juliet smiled at him as she followed the rest of the group through the door.

Miles took a few steps before spinning around and looking to Sawyer for direction on what to do next.

"Alright!" Sawyer clapped his hands together and then rubbed them against each other before letting them fall to his sides again. "Jin, Dan, and Miles you three head down to the South side of the beach." Juliet grinned softly to herself, knowing what he was doing. He intentionally put the three of them together so he could have her all to himself. She wasn't angry, she just wished he had been a little subtler about trying to get with her.

"And you two just sit here? Enjoying one another's company?" Miles raised his eyebrows, obvious sarcasm leaking through his lips.

"Juliet and I will head up north." Sawyer snapped back. "We'll all meet up in the middle."

Juliet watched Miles roll his eyes slightly at Sawyer. Pretending she didn't see it she pointed out the obvious. "How do we get through the barracks?"

"Horace." Sawyer answered. "He should be somewhere around here." He looked around behind him and through groups of people who passed by. "You all take a load off. I'll see if I can track him down and get those fences turned off." He gave Juliet one more quick glance before he headed off back towards the houses, obviously going towards Horace's.

After a few minutes Juliet headed back to Amy's, planning to grab a few waters for everyone and a pack for herself to carry. As she walked she thought of Sawyer, they were both fully aware of what was happening between the two of them, her only curiosity was when Sawyer was going to make a move. Then she began to think about the sub that was leaving at the end of this next coming week. Her chance to finally get off this island was thirteen days away. Her thoughts continued to race as she opened the front door to the house, completely taken aback when she saw Horace sitting on the couch with Amy. He had his arm around her, her face was buried in his chest.

"Juliet!" Horace sounded a little shocked. Amy lifted her head, her face was stained with tears and her eyes were puffy and red.

Juliet cleared her throat awkwardly and pointed in the direction of the fences. "We uhhh … we were wondering if it would be possible if you could turn off the fences." Her gaze went back to Amy, who was frantically wiping her face. "So we can start looking for the rest of our people."

"Oh, right!" Horace took his arm off of Amy and stood up from the couch slowly, "Of course." He smiled slightly and headed towards the door, opening it for Juliet. Juliet saw Horace hold up one finger at Amy, indicating he would only be a moment. Juliet quickly went into the back room to grab a couple packs and shoved water bottles into them before she stepped outside.

"James went back to your house to see if you were there." Juliet informed Horace. "The rest are over here waiting." She took him under the tree the group was waiting at.

"Where's Jim?" Miles asked Juliet the second she was within earshot.

"Probably still looking for Horace." Juliet handed him one of the packs and strapped the other over her shoulders. "He'll be back as soon as he realizes he's not at his house."

The group stood in silence for a few moments, the chatter of Dharma folk echoed around them. Juliet began to get lost in her own thoughts again. Glancing around the group she watched Miles anxiously rub his shoe in the dirt, Horace's presence always seemed to make him uncomfortable.

"I expect you all back by nightfall." Horace folded his arms and looked at Juliet. She nodded, letting him know she understood. "I'll give Jim a walkie so you can let me know where you guys are and when you get back." Juliet nodded again. Horace looked at each one of them individually. "And do not, under any circumstances, cross the boarder between us and them." He pointed in the direction of Richards people. They all nodded slowly. "If you aren't back in time, we'll send a search party after you."

"You can trust us, Horace." Juliet reassured him. "We're not looking to get ourselves into any more trouble."

Miles scoffed as he leaned up against the tree, folding his arms as he scanned the courtyard for Sawyer. "Where the Hell is he?" Juliet heard him mumble.

She tuned her head and placed her hand over to eyes to shield them from the sun. Juliet didn't blame Miles for growing impatient, they needed to get out of here. The less time they spent in Dharmaville the less chance they had of screwing up their identities.

Just then Horace's walkie sputtered to life and a man's voice demanded his attention. He quickly grabbed the walkie and took a few steps away from them before he answered, the voice on the other side barely giving Horace a chance to process what was going on. "Daniel." Juliet said quietly and motioned for him to come towards her, to avoid Horace from listening in. Daniel obeyed Juliet's request and stepped slowly towards her, a puzzled look on his face.

"What's up?" He asked softly, Juliet saw Miles and Jin glance towards the both of them in curiosity.

Juliet immediately lead into her question. "What happens if we leave?" She asked.

"Leave?" Daniel repeated. "The island?"

Juliet nodded, "On that sub in two weeks. If we leave what happens to us?" She asked again.

Daniel stood in silence before giving an answer. "Nothing." His eyes met Juliet's. "Nothing will happen. We will continue on with our lives." Juliet noticed Horace glance over at them for a second but his attention was pulled back to his conversation to whoever was on the other end of that walkie. "Anything that happens to us now is our present." Daniel looked at Miles and Jin, "Are you planning on leaving Juliet?" He looked back at her.

Horace shoved his walkie into his pocket and walked back over to them, giving Juliet no time to answer Daniel. "Jim should be back any second." He said, which resulted in a lot of confused looks from the group. Juliet wondered who exactly he was just talking to and how he knew Sawyer would be returning in a few seconds.

"There he is now." Miles pushed himself off the tree and nodded in the direction he was looking. Juliet turned around and saw James walking towards them, a rifle slung over his shoulder while holding another in his hand.

"Howdy!" Sawyer greeted them all with the cheekiest smile Juliet ever saw on a man.

"Jim." Horace responded and waited for Sawyer to reach them, fishing around in his pocket for the walkie he promised. "I hear you had an encounter with Phil." He said pulling the extra walkie out of his other pocket.

"That I did." Sawyer continued to smile and handed Jin the other gun rifle he was carrying. "Didn't think it would be safe for us to be wandering around in the big bad jungle without any protection." He smirked and Juliet noticed him glance at the walkie Horace was holding.

"No, not very safe at all." Horace sounded like he hated to agree. "Take this." He handed James the walkie. "For you to tell us where you are and when you return so we can let you back in safely." The two of them not breaking eye contact for a second.

Sawyer took the walkie and turned it on, "thanks boss." He strapped it to his belt and winked at Juliet. "Shall we head out?" He asked impatiently.

"Right this way." Horace spun around and began leading them to the edge of the barracks.

When they reached the fences Horace typed in the code and invited for them to step to the other side. Sawyer confidently stepped across the boarder, motioning for everyone to follow. Miles glanced at Juliet before following, doubt plastered on his face. Once everyone had crossed to the other side Horace powered the fences back up and gave them a single nod before heading back up the hill.

"Why does Jin get the gun?" Miles threw at Sawyer once Horace was out of earshot. Juliet rolled her eyes, she was wondering when Miles was going to throw another tantrum. He was due for another.

"Because I trust him." Sawyer stated simply as he turned and began walking north. Juliet raised her eyebrows at Miles and tightened her lips before following.

"Whatever." They heard Miles say under his breath.

They were off, not exactly sure what they were supposed to be looking for but they were looking for it nonetheless. Sawyer and Juliet had covered some ground before they took a break by the river. Juliet filled up the water bottles and Sawyer washed his face with a handful of water. She watched him, his firm yet gentle hands rubbing the back of his neck. He looked up and she quickly looked down at the bottle she was filling up.

Sawyer chuckled and brushed his hair out of his face. "I told ya all it would take to win you over was two weeks." A grin worked its way onto his lips. "Hell, you didn't even last two days." He stood up and strapped the gun back over his shoulder.

Juliet smiled and put the cap on the bottle that was now full. "I never said I was staying, James." She slipped the waters into her pack. _Damn._ Juliet thought to herself. Now that he was onto her he would never let up.

A tree branch snapped loudly behind Juliet. She rose to her feet and spun around to see what was following them. All she saw was branches and leaves, her heart began to race.

"Whose there?" Sawyer growled, gun pointed out in front of him.


	3. The Other Woman

"Whose there?" Sawyer repeated as he tightened his grip on the gun, ready to pull the trigger at any moment.

He kept a watchful eye on Juliet, making sure nothing would jump out at her. Just then the bushes in front of her began to move, the tip of a gun peeked out over the top of the greenery. A dark haired man emerged, Phil. He had his hands raised indicating he was not a threat.

"Son of a bitch." Sawyer said as he lowered his rifle. "What the Hell is this?" He asked, wanting to know why Horace sent one of his minions after them.

Juliet looked back and forth between Phil and Sawyer as Phil stood there in silence. Sawyer grew impatient, as he showed no signs of talking. He marched towards him, brushing past Juliet as she tried to grab him in attempt to stop him, but Sawyer continued towards Phil. He towered over Phil once he was in front of him. "Scram." Sawyer ordered.

"No." Phil blankly replied and crossed his arms, a small grin snuck onto his lips. "Horace requested I follow you for safety." His eyes wandered over to Juliet and then met Sawyers gaze again.

Sawyer scoffed. "You're not out here for Horace." He adjusted the gun on his shoulder. "You're following us because you haven't trusted us since the moment we set foot in your little village." _And he's pissed I took his guns._ Sawyer thought to himself.

"Where's the rest of your group?" Phil asked, ignoring Sawyers accusations.

"Down south covering more ground." Phil raised his eyebrows, obviously extremely skeptical of Sawyer. "Why don't you go pay them a visit?" Sawyer suggested. "Then you'll stop bothering me."

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Of course you can't."

Juliet sighed as she picked up her pack, "We should keep going." She sounded just as annoyed as Sawyer. He was even convinced he saw a slight eye roll as she slung her pack over her shoulder. Watching her continue forward he grabbed his pack and hurried after her, shooting another quick glare at Phil. Sawyer was pissed, how the hell was he supposed to shake this little weasel?

They walked for what seemed about 5 minutes of silence before Phil opened his annoying mouth once again. "Where exactly did you say your ship crashed?" He asked, skeptical as hell.

Juliet glanced back at Sawyer with a grin; she knew exactly what he was thinking. Sawyer wanted more than anything to give this guy a good pop to the head and leave him in the jungle miles behind them.

"North." Sawyer answered flatly.

"You think you would have found the rest of your crew by now." Phil stated, pushing Sawyer's patience with every word.

"Maybe your hostile friends took 'em!" Sawyer said sarcastically. "How about you go and check for us?" He spat and glared once again back at Phil who was walking closely behind.

"What kind of ship did you say you came in on?" Phil asked without missing a beat.

Sawyer sighed deeply, he had already given his whole speech to Horace. "Salvage vessel." He answered, extremely annoyed.

"Salvage vessel." Phil repeated, not buying any of it. "My crew and I have done a whole perimeter check of the north side of the island." He spoke up. "No sign of any ships or wreckage for miles." Sawyer could feel Phil glaring at the back of his head.

Phil's walkie chirped in his pocket and a wave of relief came over Sawyer. He didn't think he could take much more of this rat watching their every move. Phil took the walkie out of his pocket and Horace's voice rumbled through the speaker. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Sawyer heard Horace yell from the other side.

A smile creped its way onto Sawyers lips and he continued forward, not slowing to wait for Phil who had stopped in his tracks, explaining himself to an infuriated Horace.

"Stop!" Phil yelled out to the both of them as they melted into the bushes.

"See ya later chief!" Sawyer yelled out with a small wave as he walked disappearing completely into the greenery with Juliet by his side.

"Damn it!" Phil said loudly and headed back the way he came.

"Glad that's over." Juliet said relieved. "I wasn't sure how much more of him I would have been able to take."

"You and me both." Sawyer chimed in and ducked under a low hanging branch. "Not exactly sure how I plan to spend two weeks with that weasel." He admitted. "Maybe getting on that sub isn't such a bad idea after all Blondie." A playful charm twisted into each word.

"I wouldn't stop you." Juliet said as she continued to walk.

Sawyer sighed. "You really getting on that sub?" He asked, looking at her. "When you have nothin' waiting for you? No family, nothin' familiar?" He was genuinely waiting for an answer, not taking his eyes off her.

"Yes, James I am." She answered, her tone slightly annoyed. "Why is it so hard for you understand that?" Juliet finally turned to glance at him, her blue eyes piercing through him. She walked slightly faster. This topic was obviously not her favorite. _Could it be because she didn't quite know what she wanted herself?_ Sawyer continued to prod in hopes of this thought being true.

"Because everything you've ever known doesn't exist!" Sawyer stated very matter-of-factly. "Tell me why _that_ sounds better than here."

Juliet was quiet, he obviously struck a cord with her. He couldn't tell whether or not he should be worried about her refusal to respond. _Had he pissed her off?_ If that's what it took to make her stay then he was fine with it. But he sure as hell wasn't looking to anger her. If anything that was going backwards from what his intentions were.

"Tell me what _this_ place is worth staying for, James." Juliet said with an icy tone. "Why are you fighting so hard for me to stay?" She stopped walking and so did Sawyer. Her eyes locked onto his. "Why are you so convinced they will come back?" Her volume rising as she spoke. "Why are you waiting for _her_?" Sawyer's heart skipped a beat. Kate. Juliet was talking about Kate. Juliet knew. _Of course she knew!_ Juliet didn't break eye contact. She was genuinely waiting for an answer, an answer that Sawyer couldn't give.

Juliet stood staring at him. She obviously didn't care if they came back or not. She was probably hoping they never came back, less trouble for her. That's why she was leaving; she had nothing holding her back. She wanted off this island as much as Sawyer did, and why was he hesitating now? Sawyer didn't know what to think, his feelings and mind were in a huge mess. He had never felt this way before. As long as he had feelings for Kate there was no way he could convince Juliet to stay. Why did he want her to stay? When she wanted so badly to leave? Did he actually have feelings for Juliet? Or did he just not want to be alone?

They were both deep in thought, Sawyer probably more than Juliet. He studied her, she had impressed him, not many people caused him to feel this way, or think as much as she had pushed him to. Hell, no one had _ever_ caused him to actually stop and think about what he was doing and why. Not even Kate.

"We should probably start heading south." Juliet said in a mock whisper. "Wouldn't want to give Miles something else to complain about." She looked into his eyes a few seconds longer before brushing past him in a swift motion.

Sawyer stood with himself, birds screeching in the trees above him. He was in his own world, swimming in his thoughts, tied up in his feelings. Why was he waiting for Kate? Her and Jack were most likely snuggled up together on a flight back home. Sawyer needed to really think about the odds of them ever returning. Could Locke convince them all to come back? How long would it take? And would he still have the same feelings for Kate if they ever did return? _Miles was right_ , Sawyer thought. Juliet _had_ done a number on him.


End file.
